It’s Cascade Mountain bike season again in the Pacific Northwest. After a couple weeks of rain that was pretty heavy at times, it has mostly cleared up and the mountain bike riding season is off and running.
With a lot of uncertainty in the world and me not getting any younger, I’m always thankful for that important first ride of the season.
It’s still pretty cold at night, but once the sun comes up over the tall trees, it warms up quickly.
The mountain snowpack is melting and the creeks and streams are flowing down the mountains.
These early season rides are short with plenty of hiking up the steeper hills because hammering anything when you’re out of shape usually results in injury. Especially long lasting knee injuries. Slow and steady, the rides getting a bit longer every day.
After a week or so, combined with some uphill hike-a-bike sections, I was able to ride to one of the vantage points of Mt Adams. Some of it has already melted due to the “atmospheric river” storm that dumped a lot of rain, there is still a lot of snow because it is not that hot yet and the nights are cool. Over the weeks, I take a series of photos to check the progression of the melting snow and glaciers. Here’s the first look at late spring Mt. Adams
This early in the riding season, I’m really slow, so there’s plenty of time to enjoy the view.
Today was the longest ride so far. Just over an hour. Time is more important than mileage in the mountains because of the elevation changes in relatively short distances.
The trails deeper in the forest are dark because the dense forest growth. Not much sun here.
Some rain showers coming up and I need to do some work on the mountain bike so I can get back to riding the mountain trails before they turn to summertime dust.
More mountain biking from the PacNW coming so check back soon. Snow forecast tonight.